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BOD Minutes |
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Subject to approval of the BOD at the next Meeting Reno Business Meeting Silver Legacy Resort Casino October 25, 2007
1. President Glenn Cribbs opened the Annual Business Meeting at 9:00 A.M. with an introduction of special guests in the audience that included the TWA TARPA Executive Committee, Sue Pyle, and William Haug, the APA Secretary-Treasurer. He thanked the Grey Eagle members for coming and requested they all sign the attendance sheets located at the check-in desk. 2. Glenn then asked Secretary Jim Groves if we had a quorum and he stated that we did. 3. At the Presidents request Secretary Jim Groves read the list of names of members who had passed away since our last business meeting. After the reading Jim asked for a moment of silence in honor of the deceased. 4. President Cribbs asked the Treasurer, Bob Hoch, to give his report. He stated that the net assets of The Grey Eagles grew by over $77,000 compared to the same period last year. This was because funds paid for last years cruise convention passed through the travel agent and was never credited to The Grey Eagle treasury. As usual in the third quarter, the convention registration income appears, but the vast majority of the convention expenses do not. Also, the treasurer is working towards a goal of having nine $50,000 laddered CD’s, 5 at AACU and 4 with USAA, which rollover every six months. Additional expenses still not funded are a contribution to The Grey Eagle Foundation and $13,000 to $14,000 needed to purchase several years inventory of shirts, baseball cap, sweatshirts, etc. This will appear in the next quarterly statement. 5. The President asked the Secretary to give his report and it consisted of a strong plea to keep E-mails updated. 6. Jud Prather gave a little history of The Grey Eagle Foundation. It was set up to assist less fortunate retired pilots and their widows so they could live with dignity. As of now there are 5 recipients of benefits, 4 widows and 1 pilot. The Foundation has $190,000 in assets, $20,000 a year income and $27,000 in disbursements. The oldest is 97 and the youngest is 77. The average benefit is $400 to $500 a months so the foundation has sufficient funds to meet all future obligations. 7. George Partlo, our Grey Eagle scribe, discussed his putting together of The Grey Eagle Newsletter and the tremendous assistance provided by the APA print shop. He also stated that he has DVD’s for $10 per convention with photographs from last years cruise and the Reno Convention. Anyone desiring them should contact George at Captain George Pratlo, 4410 Millstream Road, Marengo, IL 60125 – gpratlo@mc.net. 8. Roger Hill gave the membership report and stated that 78 pilots had joined the Grey Eagles in 2007. About 25 percent of the new Grey Eagles were life time memberships. He encouraged the membership to explain the benefits and advantages of being a Grey Eagle member to those pilots, retired and active, who are legible to become members. 9. Tom Eanes, the hotel committee negotiator, stated the next convention will be in Orlando, Florida with the dates being October 30 to November 3, 2008. The hotel is the Buena Vista Palace, with room rates of $108 per night, and it is the best facility we have ever obtained. George McKellar will be Art Culver’s Convention Chairman. 10. The various Area Directors presented items and events that were of importance to their various domiciles. The one area that all agreed on was how helpful and appreciated the monetary support of the hospitality suites was this year. Only New York felt it was necessary to continue with its 50-50 program to help defray expenses. Up and coming retirement dinners were noted so everyone could plan accordingly. Chicago advised that they still had a tent site at Oshkosh each year and everyone is invited to stop by. 11. President Cribbs gave his assessment of the 2007 Convention and the Silver Legacy Resort Casino. We ended up with 411 attendees at the convention and a good time was had by all. Everyone was very pleased with the food, service and hospitality of the entire staff. Glenn stated that much of this was due to the efforts of his Convention Chairman, Jack Neilon, and the Executive Board. He thanked them all profusely for their efforts, especially the volunteers handling the registration and check in. The round of applause from the members signified to all that Glenn and Izabela had done more than their fair share in making this convention such a great success. 12. Art Culver gave a quick synopsis of Convention 2008. As stated earlier it will be at the Buena Vista Palace which is located right across from Disney World. The dates are October 30 to November 2 and there are many interesting events and tours planned. 13. Don Jensen is still in the search mode, but it looks like Convention 2009 will be in the DFW area. Dale Johnson has volunteered to be the Convention Chairman. Numerous hotels are being reviewed along with an abundance of interesting tours and aviation related events. This will be extremely convenient for all the Grey Eagles attending since it will be close to the DFW Airport. The highest priority will be containing cost to insure a higher percentage of participation. We are shooting for an October time frame. 14. President Cribbs asked all attendees to please sign the cards at the check in desk for those of our contemporaries who could not attend the convention due to personal or medical reasons. He also again requested that they sign the attendance sheets. 15. Austin Bond had previously been appointed as the Grey Eagle store keeper and will be responsible for the storing, shipping and marketing of all Grey Eagle clothing at our conventions. This is a big job and he will be acting in coordination with the Treasurer for accounting purposes. 16. President Cribbs commenced the new business by announcing that Jim Groves, the Grey Eagles Secretary for the last nine years, will assume the newly created role of Grey Eagle Historian. He can not be thanked enough for his work and dedication as a representative of the Grey Eagles Organization. That was followed by a presentation from Don Jensen concerning the Grey Eagle Wall at the flight academy. He is working with Mark Hetterman, Jack Hinson and Bob Malone and would appreciate the donation of any items of interest that can be put on display to further the cause and history of the Grey Eagles. Glenn then commented on an Alaskan cruise that will depart on May 30, 2008, and is being organized by Vicki McGowen. She was our cruise coordinator for the 2006 convention. This is not a Grey Eagle sanctioned or sponsored event but an effort to get friends and family together for a fun trip. Vicki can be reached at 775-849-1377. Bill Haug, the Secretary/Treasurer of APA was then introduced. He was the official representative to the Convention from APA and gave an excellent presentation on the present state of affairs at the company. He stated that 81 percent of the elgible pilots voted in the last election which produced a new slate of officers at APA. Other highlights he brought out was the reduction in company debt from 22 billion to 16 billion with 6 billion in available cash, there are currently about 9,000 working members with 2,500 still on furlough, about 40 pilots per month are being recalled by AA, and that retired pilots can access the secure (Non-public) side of the APA web site. To gain access contact Keke Runnels at krunnels@alliedpilots.org. Bill also stated that the main problem with the relationship between the pilots and management was the loss of respect. Management continues to get their bonus awards, but the profit sharing for pilots does not take effect until the company makes over 500 million. It has also been reduced from 8% to 2%. Gerard Arpey’s comment on the subject was that APA does not understand executive compensation, and Jeff Brundage from Human Resources stated that if pilots want to be paid like management they should work in management. This attitude is producing a rise in early retirements and medical disability claims. APA has also been communicating with the ALPA pilots from other airlines to identify and address their common problems. The reasons for AMR management not having any representation at the convention were varied, but it was obvious they have no desire to retain the strong bonds that once existed. A question from the floor related to the loss of APA dental coverage when American implemented their plan and the increase in cost to the retirees. This will probable end up being a contract negotiations item, but further information on the plan can be obtained from Mike Knoerr at APA. The last topic discussed was the establishment of the Lyon’s Den at APA headquarters. It was primarily through the efforts of Lloyd Hill and Sue Pyle that this area was established and is used for such events as press conferences and interviews. It is fitting tribute to Dick Lyons for his life long contributions to APA, the Grey Eagles and his fellow pilots. 17. Nominations for new Executive Board members were then presented by President Cribbs. Martin H. O’Leary, the Chairman of the Grey Eagles Nominating Committee, was unable to attend due to medical reasons, but he sent out the boards recommendations in a letter that was presented by Dale Johnson. The five nominees for positions on the 2008 Grey Eagles Executive Board are as follows:
President------------------------------Captain Arthur L. Culver 1ST Vice President-------------------Captain Donald C. Jensen 2ND Vice President----------------- -Captain Gary E. Yudell Secretary----------------------------- Captain Jere L. Francis Treasurer------------------------------Captain Robert E. Mangam President Cribbs then asked that the board’s recommendations be adopted. This was passed by a voice vote. That was followed by a request for nominations from the floor. There were none forthcoming. Herbert Dabelow made a motion to close the nominations. This was seconded by William Steers. A two thirds majority was required to pass the motion and this was down by a show of hands. The adoption of the board’s recommendations for new officers was approved by a voice vote which was unanimous. The new Executive Board members were then introduced. 18. President Cribbs then reminded everyone that there would be a walking tour this afternoon to Harrah’s Automobile Museum. It would consist of a movie at 1:00 PM followed by a tour of the automobile collection. Glenn then introduced the three representatives from TARPA, our sister organization for the pilots of TWA. President Guy Fortier made a short presentation that reiterated our common goals and their desire to assimilate with the Grey Eagles. After his short presentation both he and Secretary/Treasurer Ed Madigan presented Glenn with lifetime membership checks to join the Grey Eagles and stated they are encouraging other TWA pilots to do the same. The 1st Vice President Bill Kirschner was already a life time member. All three were given a standing round of applause. 19. With no further business a motion was made to close the meeting at 10:31AM by Gary Yudell and seconded by Robert Dawson. After a voice vote to adjourn President Cribbs closed the meeting at 10:31AM.
Respectfully Submitted, Jere L. Francis, Secretary
EXECUTIVE BOARD MINUTES SHERATON DFW GRAND HOTEL JANUARY 28, 2008
At 9:09 AM President Arthur Culver called the meeting to order. Members present were Arthur Culver, Gary Yudell, Robert Mangam, Jere Francis, Roger Hill, Bruce Ott, Raymond Seymour, George McKellar, and Thomas Eanes. President Culver then asked Secretary Francis if we had a quorum present and he stated that there was. The President then asked the Secretary to read the list of those members who had flown west since our convention in Reno. Secretary Francis read the list and then a moment of silence was observed by the Board in remembrance of them. The Treasurer’s report – Bob Mangam commenced his report by stating what a remarkable job his predecessor, Bob Hoch, had done as Treasurer of the Grey Eagles and noted all of the hard work he had performed to bring us into the twenty first century. He deserves to receive special recognition for his contributions during his tenure as Treasurer of our organization. Also, in the future, he will continue to produce the Photo CD and will file the 2007 tax return since he is familiar with the situation. Hoch also had some recommendations that he thought should be added to the Policy Manual. They were that nominees to the Board who were working the National Conventions should have their expenses reimbursed. Also, one member of each committee should also be invited by the President and their expenses be covered. Another suggestion was the elimination of the $100. flower disbursement to the Grey Eagle Foundation for the benefit of deceased members. This was changed from $50. to $100. by a voice vote during the 2006 convention but was never incorporated into the Policy Manual. Now the G.E. Foundation does not want or need this money so this provision could be deleted completely from the manual. Another item was the issuance of GE credit cards to the President, the current convention chairman and the store keeper. This would greatly simplify and facilitate the conduct of our business matters. Bob Mangam also brought up another provision in the Policy Manual that we should be aware of and that is the requirement to have our trademark license agreement reviewed and approved by American Airlines once a year. This hasn’t been done since 2000, but the airline doesn’t seem concerned. It is probably best to await any initiative on their part. He also stated he is working on a list of GE members two years behind on their dues who need to be contacted. The last items dealt with was the new Grey Eagles Merchandise Form that was drawn up by Austin Bond, with the Treasurer’s approval, and the distribution of new expense statements. Mangam’s comment on the latter was submit them early. The Secretary’s report – Jere Francis gave an update on our member status and stated that we are not growing. The attrition rate is just about equal to the number of new members joining and is a problem we need to address. The next item was the Scribe’s annual letter. George has not published it yet. The Secretary will contact him on this matter and also Sue Pyle to get a current list of retired Grey Eagles who were not APA members upon retirement. A discussion then followed about our deceased associate member, A-11, James Quinlivan and his contribution to APA’s benefit program. Bob Mangam expressed concern about how we are taking care of our Grey Eagle widows. It was brought up that the President writes each one of them a personal letter when the spouse passes away. Also, a copy of the change letter from the Secretary will be sent to them. expressing our concern and sympathy. The minutes from the Executive Board Meeting in Reno on were then reviewed and approved. The Scribe was not present, but he had discussed with the President the importance of the Area Directors keeping him informed about Retirement Dinner dates and other important events. He needs it for his news letter. The President and Secretary also need to have this information to avoid scheduling conflicts. Funding of the GR Foundation by the Grey Eagles was brought up by Bob Mangam. Right now there are only 4 recipients and the Foundation does not need or want additional funds. They have $196,000. in the bank. Bob made a motion and Yudell seconded it that funding to the Foundation be temporarily terminated until the Foundation changes its charter or they request funds in the future. Motion passed. Roger Hill gave his membership report stating we have picked up 32 new members since the Reno Convention. This puts us on a pace to equal or surpass our best year for new enrollments since 2000. The Area Directors presented their concerns and they primarily revolved around obtaining new members and the inequity of dues for pilots joining as lifetime members at age 50. After a lengthy discussion a resolution was made that a committee consisting of the Treasurer, Secretary, Membership Chairman, and possibly other ad hock members that they deemed necessary, investigate changes to the dues structure for members between the ages of 50 and 60. The committee will present its recommendations at the next board meeting. The purpose is to make joining the organization more attractive to younger members. Convention 2008 will be held in Orlando, Florida, from October 30th to November 3rd. Board members and the convention chairman, George McKellar, will arrive on the 29th and depart on the 4th. George gave a rundown on the tours and events, all of which will be posted on the website. The Business meeting will be November 2nd. The President stated he has Astronaut "Hoot" Gibson as a convention speaker and is attempting to also get John Travolta. A discussion followed concerning invitations to AA management. The consensus was to comply with the Policy Manual concerning invitations. American did donate money to the Grey Eagles last year according the Treasurer. Convention 2009 will be held here in the Metroplex. The hotel is the Omni Mandalay in Los Colinas, a four star facility. Don Jensen, the First VP, was unable to attend today, but Tom Eanes, the Site Selection Committee, presented some of the highlights. Dale Johnson is the convention chairman. The convention will be from the 24th to the 27th of September. Grey Eagle night will be held at the Love Field Air Museum and it should be a highlight of the event. Tom has negotiated a room rate of $111. per night, and there is no resort tax like we have in Orlando. The biggest obstacle now is the absence of complimentary transportation between the airport and hotel and he is working on the problem. Second VP Gary Yudell has just joined the Executive Board, but he is already planning Convention 2010. He is looking at Philadelphia as his primary site with Baltimore as a backup. The expensive room rates appear to be the biggest problem. Atlantic City is too inaccessible for the members and he isn’t very receptive to a cruise, so that eliminates the other choices. A motion was made by Art Culver and seconded by Bob Mangam to revise the expense policy for nominees to the Executive Board. Presently they are not reimbursed unless specifically invited, in writing, by the President. The motion was that "nominees recommended for the Executive Board, one per position, and their spouses be reimbursed in the same manner as existing board members". Motion passed. The Treasurer stated that GE credit cards had been issued to the President, Convention Chairman and Store Keeper as previously recommended in the minutes. The Area Directors then expressed a strong interest in setting up a national account for such purposes as collecting annual dues, retirement dinner reservations, etc. The value, cost and administration of such a program was discussed at length. The Treasurer stated he would talk to his banker to see how feasible it would be to set up such an account and report back to the Board of Directors. Gary Yudell then presented the following resolution on behalf of Ray Seymour and it was seconded by Bob Mangum: Be it resolved that the charges for internet connection while traveling on Grey Eagle business be a reimbursable expense authorized by the Treasurer effective January 1, 2008. Motion passed. Be it resolved that a PDF formatted document be distributed to the BOD members for use when printing official Grey Eagle letterheads or envelopes. Motion made by Gary Yudell and seconded by Jere Francis. Purpose is to save on printing costs. Motion passed. Gary will provide the document. Gary Yudell presented a motion that a link be established on the Grey Eagle website "member lookup" section that will allow all members of the Grey Eagles to access the entire Grey Eagle roster. After considerable discussion there was not a seconded for the motion due to not knowing all of the ramifications of such an undertaking. Motion tabled for further investigation. This motion was presented by Gary Yudell and seconded by Bob Mangum: Be it resolved that all members of the10 man Grey Eagle BOD have the authority to designate a DDR (Duly Designated Representative) to attend all Grey Eagle functions and act in their stead. This DDR must be a member of the Grey Eagles. Motion passed. The next proposal was a resolution to establish a communications and insurance committee, either independently or under the umbrella of the existing Retirement Committee. The purpose was to setup an 800 hotline for members without E-mail, a system wide E-mail list that can be tested, and a forum to educate members how various insurances act in concert. This was tabled until further research can be conducted by 2nd VP Gary Yudell. A report will be made at the Spring Board meeting. There was considerable discussion concerning the promotion of non-sanctioned Grey Eagle events such as the Alaskan Cruise in June. This should only be available through open bids and competitive comparisons, and the vendors should not be provided solicitation rights at Grey Eagle events. Promotions should only be made available to members of the Grey Eagles after obtaining the approval of the BOD. The advertising of Grey Eagle events through Flight Deck, Flagship News and the APA Flightline was discussed in detail. Bob Mangam stated he would check on the feasibility and cost of utilizing these media and report back. The purpose of such an undertaking is to raise the awareness and advantages of joining the Grey Eagles for those active pilots over age 50. The BOD has ascertained that the Policy Manual has not been updated in 4 or 5 years. Hence it was resolved that a committee be established to review and update the manual. The committee will be chaired by Gary Yudell and he will appoint two Area Directors to assist him. Changes in policy have already been made but never incorporated into the latest published version. The recommended changes will be presented at the next BOD meeting for review, acceptance and approval. The President brought up the topic of Bill Hague who has been responsible for the annual raffle at our conventions for many years. The raffle produced over $5,000. in revenue last year. Bill stated he would not be doing it this year because he did not get any recognition for his efforts. Art succeeded in acquiring his services for at least one more year and Bill will be awarded a plaque at the Orlando convention in acknowledgement of his efforts on behalf of the Grey Eagle organization. Bob Mangam will handle the ordering of the plaque. Member retention beyond one or two years after retirement, the difficulty of collecting annual dues and methods to attract active pilots over 50 to join the Grey Eagles was discussed at length. This group consists of about 3,000 pilots while we have only 2400 member, almost all of whom are retirees. Suggestions consisted of special recognition for the 50 to 60 age group on Grey Eagle night at the convention, sending out a letter to each pilot when they turn 50 explaining the benefits of being a Grey Eagle, providing information on such subjects as Medicare Supplement D and United Healthcare prescription reimbursement, and obtaining a Grey Eagle table at AA and APA sponsored retirement seminars to explain and promote the organization were all presented. A committee to review the dues structure has already been set up to make them more equitable for all age groups. The suggestion of a separate convention reception for the younger group had been suggested by Rich Mauer and Jim Fitzpatrick, but the board thought this was self defeating. It would be a divisive measure that is counter productive to what we are trying to accomplish. Different approaches to these problems will be evaluated and discussed at the next board meeting, including the different convention events that will appeal to a younger age group. Gary Yudell’s view point is that the Grey Eagles must become more than just a social organization if it is to survive. Annual conventions are not enough. The issue of age 65 retirement and its effects on the Grey Eagles brought an important issue to light. Bruce Ott, the DFW area director, stated a scenario that presents a dilemma for the organization. Active pilots under 60 are upset with American Airlines and APA over this issue. Unfortunately the Grey Eagles has been included in this camp and is being painted with the same brush. Until this issue can be addressed it could prove detrimental to our goal of increasing membership. Ads (Mentioned earlier) explaining our position and the manning of tables at the retirement seminars were suggestions to defuse the problem of guilt by association. The real concern was how pervasive this attitude is among the active pilots. With no other business the President closed the meeting with a stroke of the gavel at 12:05 PM.
Respectfully submitted, Jere L. Francis Secretary
Executive Board Minutes
SPRINGBOARD 07 THE SILVER LEGACY RESORT CASINO JUNE 18, 2007 1. At 1600 hours President Cribbs called the meeting to order. He asked Vicki McGowen to discus the possibility of another cruise for future conventions. Also discussed was perhaps a sail unrelated to a convention by 80 or so members. 2. Members present were Glenn Cribbs, Art Culver, Don Jensen, Jim Groves, Bob Hoch, George Regan, Ray Seymour, Bruce Ott, Rich Maurer, Jere Francis, Fred Landbeck, Dave Hooper, Bob Mangam, Dale Johnson, George McKellar, George Partlo, and Tom Eanes. 3. President Cribbs asked Secretary Groves if there was a quorum. Groves stated that there was a quorum. Cribbs then asked Groves to read the names of Members Flown West since our last BOD meeting. Groves did so and asked for a moment of silence when finished. 4. The Treasurer's Report - Bob Hoch stated that he has been sending the quarterly report by E-Mail and all liked the idea. He stated that the assets have increased while the liabilities slightly decreased and another $50000 in CD's was added in January. The position of Storekeeper was added after the winter board meeting. He will fill orders, replenish items as needed and ship items to and from the convention site. All of this will be coordinated with the Treasurer as well. A short discussion followed concerning finding deceased members on the website. Bob Hoch put forward a motion that Jim Groves get together and solve this problem. Jim Groves seconded the motion and it was passed by voice vote. George Regan said he would put a link to the APA website on the member lookup portion of our website. Dues non-payment came up next and Bob stated that after not paying for two consecutive years, members were dropped. The case of Ron Messman who is suffering from cancer was brought up because he was unable to respond to the dues. The BOD made him a life member so that he would receive information about the Grey Eagles without having to pay each year. Bob stated that he had not paid the normal $100 per Grey Eagle death to the Grey Eagle Foundation since he was told by the executive BOD at the winter BOD meeting that the Foundation had enough money for the time being. Bob explained that the accountant stated that he could do an audit as required by the Bylaws but it would be expensive and cover ground already covered. By executive vote, the audit for 2007 is specifically waived. Lastly, Bob stated that the bill from the accountant was over the $1500 limit as stated in Sec 4.05 (10) of the Policy manual and By-Laws, Art IV, Sec 4.8 K and would like to raise the limit to $2000 before making it necessary to obtain the approval of the Executive Board. Motion made by Groves, second by Jensen. Passed by voice vote. 5, Secretary Jim Groves explained his handout and asked for approval of the minutes from the previous directors meeting that he had e-mailed to all. The minutes were approved by voice vote. 6. Scribe George Partlo gave a short discussion of the upcoming newsletter on which he is working. 7. The Nominating committee represented by Dale Johnson gave the names of the candidates to President Glenn Cribbs. Cribbs read the names and announced that the Executive Board would make the selections and report outcome at the upcoming Convention 07 in October. 8. Membership Chairman Roger Hill could not attend, but sent his report that stated that he had enrolled 57 new members since Convention 06. 9. Area Directors/Deputies report was mostly concerned with the money (or lack thereof) allocated to the Retirement Dinners. A spirited discussion followed with the outcome in the form of a motion, which will be put forward in New Business. Glenn Cribbs told us that Bill Seiden would be the new SFO deputy. Ray Seymour stated that in southern California, he used Mike Williams as an event planner. The event was held at the Weston hotel and everything worked OK. Ray is going to consider having the event in January in the future so the BOD meeting could be held in conjunction. Bruce Ott noted the large turnout at the retirement dinners and is trying to promote more participation at the by-monthly luncheons. President Cribbs read a proposed motion by Northeast Area Director J. C. Farrell regarding sending a substitute to board meetings. A short discussion followed concerning the qualifications of such a substitute. Fred Landbeck reported on a survey he did concerning the state of the Area Director's finances. His motion on the project will be put forward in new business. President Cribbs introduced Rich Maurer as the new Southeast Area Director. Rich stated that he was excited to be a part of the organization. He said the Chief Pilots in MIA were supporters of the Grey Eagles. He is already making plans to get more new members and participation in the Southeast Area. 10. Convention 07 - President Cribbs outlined the various methods to get to Reno. Airplane, bus and rail could be used as well as automobiles. Remember parking is free at the Silver Legacy. Each of these suggestions will be in the Convention 07 package and on the website. The board has already been treated to dinner at the Prime Rib Grill with a show at the Eldorado Theater, a luncheon cruise on the Dixie II on Lake Tahoe and tomorrow will be a tour of NAS Fallon followed by a tasting of the various meals to be served during the convention. On the last day, after checking out, there will be a tour of the hotel and its facilities. 11. Convention 08 - Art Culver said that he and the Site Selection Committee had chosen the Buena Vista Palace in Orlando, Florida. Tom Eanes has already negotiated the contract and stated that this will be the nicest hotel in which we have ever held a convention. It will be October 29 through November 4th The primary days are October 30 through November 2nd. Room rates will be $108. The hotel is across the street from "Downtown Disney". He further stated that he had called George McKellar to go with him to the hotels because of George's previous experience. He described some of the tours that he is working on. 12. Convention 09 - Don Jensen stated that a search is under way and is leaning toward the DFW area. He further stated that he, Jack Hinson and Bob Malone were working on decorating the walls at the Flight Academy and the C.R. Smith Museum with Grey Eagle memorabilia. 13. President Cribbs stated that his Convention Chairman was feeling under the weather. He stated that what the board did for the last two days was see what some of the tours would be. Still to be done were the details such as bus captains, concierge, and help to and from the airport. On the website, there are alternate ways to get to Reno. The President said he had written Mark Hettermann, VP Flight to see if we could get an extra section both to and from DFW and ORD on October 21st and October 26th. The other purpose of the letter was to see if we could get some financial assistance from Mark's budget. Mark never answered. Cribbs stated that the "Golden Wings" (F/E group) had told him that they would not be joining us in Reno. He stated Bill Haag who had done our raffle in the past was gearing up for that in Reno. He is writing 250 Hotels system wide to donate rooms as raffle prizes. Cribbs stated that the Silver Legacy has already donated a two-night stay and he is working on the El Dorado. The DC-3 the "Flagship Detroit" may be in Reno during the convention and if it is, it will be visited on the return trip from Fallon NAS. He also stated that he would like the Executive Board to arrive on Saturday, October 20 so that we will be here for the Executive Board meeting on Sunday morning. He also said that he attended a meeting of TARPA in Reno and that they were very gracious and that he had offered them some Grey Eagle applications. He had talked with Ralph Hunter and as a result of the discussion around 4000 four page documents (Presidential Letter, GE Summary and a two page application were printed and mailed to the 50 year old and older APA members that were not Grey Eagles. He stated he had gotten at note from Marty O'Leary and asked that he thank both Bob Hoch and Jim Groves for their years of help. He stated that he had made several appointments this year. George McKellar and Tom Marvel both as "members at large" on the Nominating Committee. Rick Maurer and Rich Butler as new Area Directors, Bill Seiden installed as Deputy Director for SFO and Austin Bond as Storekeeper. 14. Old Business - None 15. - New Business - (A) George McKellar moved that the "or joins within 30 days" be removed from item 3 under Retirement Dinner Suggestions in the Policy Manual . Bruce Ott seconded the motion. Passed by voice vote. (B) McKellar also moved that the amount the Grey Eagles would pay to the base per Grey Eagle who attends the retirement dinner be raised to $150 in the same section.. Seconded by Ott. Passed by voice vote. (C) Bruce Ott moved that since a financial situation may cause Area Directors to face a financial shortfall at the retirement dinner, be it resolved that the Board of Directors may authorize additional funds to the Area Director for dinner expenses, not to exceed $2000 following a petition in writing to the Grey Eagle president from the Area Director describing his situation. Seconded by Groves. Passed by voice vote. (D) Don Jensen moved that the option on the Grey Eagle application of receiving either a disc of the photo album or the large album itself be eliminated. Only offer the disc. Seconded by Hoch. Passed by voice vote. 16. There being no further business, President Cribbs adjourned the meeting with a stroke of the gavel at 1840 hours.
Respectfully Submitted Jim Groves Secretary, The Grey Eagles
WINTERBOARD 07 SHERATON GRANDE DFW JANUARY 8, 2007
1. At 9:00 A.M. President Cribbs called the meeting to order. He asked the Secretary Jim Groves if a quorum was present and the Secretary stated that a quorum was present.
2. Members present were Glenn Cribbs, Don Jensen, James Groves, Bob Hoch, Bob Mangam, Jere Francis, Roger Hill, Bob Malone, George Partlo, Dale Johnson, Tom Eanes, George McKellar, Jack Hinson, J.C. Farrell, Bob Lundy, Bruce Ott and Ray Seymour.
3. President Cribbs asked Secretary to read the names of members flown west since the last board meeting. At the end of the reading, Jim asked for a moment of silence for those who had flown west.
4. Treasurer Bob Hoch passed out folders containing the 4th quarter results. Bob stated that Tom Pasquale had asked about getting a copy of the database and after a short discussion, the board thought that it might not be the thing to do. Bob went on to say that we have CDs in both the Credit Union and USAA. All are generating a goodly amount of interest. Bob said that the IRS has been a problem over the past few years with a $1000 direct deposit that the bank put in the wrong account. They are still not satisfied with our explanation and we have spent several hundred dollars having our accountant try to explain this to the IRS. The second page of his report was names of members in arrears on their dues. If they stay in arrears for two years, they are dropped from the roster. If you know any of these folks, you might tell them that if they intended to continue as members they needed to pay their dues. Bob went on to state that the cruise convention was, from his standpoint, one of the most difficult financial operations that he had ever been involved with. He further stated that he felt that there should be some limit on the amount of money kept by the Grey Eagles based on the number of members. Perhaps the extra money needs to be spent at the convention for wine, a hosted cocktail party and other needed expenses. A short discussion followed about 501 non-profit businesses. Bob then commented on the proposed budget for the upcoming year. Bob went on to state that the Policy Manual should be brought up to date concerning expenses at conventions for the members who actually perform the work and consider raising the automobile mileage figure to a more current amount.
5. Secretary Jim Groves went over the salient features of his report including the new Front Page for 2007. He further stated that he wanted all to check the web site for correctness of the information. President Cribbs corrected two items in the minutes from the previous board meeting and with those corrections Don Jensen moved that the minutes be accepted as corrected and J. C. Farrell seconded the motion. Motion passed by voice vote.
6. Grey Eagles Foundation member Jack Hinson told of the people being helped by the Foundation and stated that the Foundation was having a board meeting in February. Bob Malone stated that the amount of money that the foundation has would be sufficient to carry each of the recipients to their death with a bit left over. He further stated that the amounts ranged from $200 to $450 a month and that this year, each recipient would receive an increase of $50 per month.
7. President Cribbs spoke about Bob Lundy's resignation as the Scribe. He said that out of the shadows George Partlo showed up. Since both attended this meeting, they were sharing insights on the duties and techniques to accomplish these duties. George was given a resounding "Hello" from the Board. He said that he was delighted to be a member of this society and stated he had enjoyed his experience at conventions and looked forward to the year 2007.
8. Membership Chairman Roger Hill reported 13 new members since the cruise convention. He stated the active duty members were getting the members, he was only processing them. A short discussion followed about recruiting techniques.
9. Area Director Reports - J.C. Farrell stated that the Area Directors need some monetary help for their hospitality suites that they run during the national conventions. Bruce Ott stated that a similar need existed for the annual DFW Christmas Luncheon. Treasurer Bob Hoch stated that the money now given the Area directors for the Retirement Dinner should help in this matter. A short discussion followed concerning the increasing costs in staging the retirement dinners and the luncheons. Bruce Ott brought up the photo albums and their storage. Roger Hill stated he would look into the problem and report. J.C. Farrell said he thought the Grey Eagle president should send a letter concerning joining the Grey Eagles when each pilot turns 50. A short discussion followed on the technique for getting these addresses. Sue Pyle could probably get these for us from APA. Ray Seymour stated that he is considering having the retirement dinners for LAX in Santa Ana since about half of the pilots retiring live south of Los Angeles. President Cribbs gave a brief description of events in the SFO area and stated that he is going to move the retirement dinners to March to get them farther away from Christmas and Thanksgiving hoping for a better turnout.
10. Site Selection Chairman Tom Eanes welcomed Dale Johnson on board as Vice Chairman of the site selection committee. Tom went on to say that they had looked at three hotels in the Orlando area. They had narrowed to two hotels, the Grosvenor Hotel and the Buena Vista Palace. He went on to say that there are a number of things to see in this area. Dates being considered are October 11, and October 29th. Both hotels are within walking distance of Downtown Disney. Airport access is good and the number of flights is large. Using Miami as an intermediate stop would increase flight frequency into Orlando.
11. Convention 2007 - President Cribbs went through the flights into Reno from various cities on American Airlines. Sacramento, San Francisco and Oakland and drive are possibilities. Amtrack from San Jose is relatively inexpensive. If you drive, the parking is free at the Silver Legacy. Motor homes can be parked with no hookup at the Circus Circus lot next door. All these suggestions will be in the Convention 2007 package and be on the web page. The Springboard meeting will be on June 17-20. Some of the activities for the BOD to try will be dinner at Roxy's, a luncheon cruise on the Dixie ll on Lake Tahoe, Board meeting will be on the 3rd day from 9 to noon and after, go to "Brews Brothers" to taste the homemade beer. We will have a walkthrough of the hotel and facilities followed by a menu tasting for the various meals to be served during the convention. After checkout on June 20th, we will bus to NAS Fallon to check out the "Top Gun" tour. The bus will return us to Reno in time to make the flights to the various cities. Convention 2007 will be October 22-26 with October 21st as early registration.
12. Convention 2008 - Convention President Art Culver was unable to attend due to oversold aircraft in Orlando. Art had a number of stints installed recently but now seems to be OK. Dave Haggett is Art's Convention Chairman.
13. Convention 2009 - Don Jensen who will be the Grey Eagle President for this convention is still casting around to find a place for his convention. The DFW area is being considered. Dale Johnson is considering the convention chairman's job.
14. Old Business - President Cribbs complemented past president Marty O'Leary for his fine job putting on the "cruise convention". Future changes to the Policy Manual need to be made for guidance with another "cruise convention". A short discussion followed about the need for these changes.
15. New Business - J.C. Ferrell stated that since Area Directors are required to have hospitality suites at the national conventions and there is no provision to fund expenses incurred by the Area Directors hosting these hospitality suites, moved that the policy manual be changed to direct the treasurer to pay each Area Director that hosts a hospitality suite $500.00 during the national convention. Second was by Jim Groves. There being no more discussion, the motion passed by show of hands. The discussion then turned to the Grey Eagles Store. Although the 2nd VP is charged with managing the inventory, the actual storage of the items has remained in some cases with one person who had the room to house the inventory. The suggestion of "permanent" storekeeper came up and was discussed. Bob Hoch moved that the position of "storekeeper" be created and Jim Groves seconded the motion. Motion passed by voice vote. A short discussion followed concerning different ways to handle this job. President Cribbs asked if the Grey Eagles should do anything for the memorial to 9/11 in Grapevine. After a short discussion, the question was tabled to the Reno business meeting. President Cribbs stated that Fred Landbeck the Central Area Director will retire in June 07 and has as his replacement, Steve Butler who will be 50 this month and will join the Grey Eagles prior to June. A short discussion followed concerning the age 65-retirement rules and how it would affect the Grey Eagles and the Area Directors. Concerning the STL issue President Cribbs gave a brief discussion of the items done and his discussion with Gary Flor and Bob Dedman among others about the TWA pilots joining the Grey Eagles. He also stated that he sent Gary documents including the GE Application and Gary gave a commitment to speak on behalf of the Grey Eagles at the retirees banquet. None of the retirees are Grey Eagles and do not seem interested. Glenn was invited to the retirement dinner but felt that his attendance was too pushy.
16. Other Items/Business - President Cribbs said he did not think the convention for the Golden Wings in Reno at the same time as our convention was going to work out. A short discussion followed about how to invite flight engineers to our convention. The raffle at the convention came up. Bill Haag sends out over 200 letters to potential donors. Perhaps the procedure for awarding the prizes needs to be changed. Zane Lemon talked about the Flagship Detroit Foundation. He wanted access to the names and addresses of members of the Grey Eagles so that the FDF might solicit them for donations. All felt it would be OK for Sue Pyle to give the names and addresses of the Grey Eagles to the foundation. Bob Mangam gave a nominating committee report. He stated that Dale Johnson, Marty O'Leary and he were on the committee and this year they needed to find a new Secretary, Treasurer, 2nd Vice President and possibly Storekeeper for the year. Mike Williams from Hunt Corporation gave us a presentation about how he could save us money in our convention planning. The board felt that he could not do anything for us that we could not already do.
There being no further business, President Cribbs adjourned the meeting at 12:00.
Respectfully submitted,
Jim Groves, Secretary
Executive Board Minutes Doubletree Hotel San Pedro October 20, 2006
1. At 3:00 P.M. President Martin O'Leary called the Board of Directors meeting of the Grey Eagles to order.
2. A quorum was present and Martin O'Leary, Glenn Cribbs, Art Culver, Don Jensen, Bob Mangam, Don Craig, Bob Hoch and Jim Groves were in attendance.
3. Secretary Jim Groves requested that the reading of the members who have died since our last Board meeting be delayed until the Business Meeting on the ship. President O'Leary agreed. Bob Hoch moved for approval of the Secretary's minutes and Glenn Cribbs gave a second. Motion passed.
4. Treasurer Bob Hoch passed out his report and stated that there had been no change since our meeting two weeks before. He did state that after we got aboard the ship and discovered how much credit the ship company was going to give us that he planed to return that credit to each member traveling. He further stated that it would amount to a $100 credit or better. He also pointed out there are 9 (nine) members who will be dropped due to not-payment of dues. Bob discussed our relationship with the IRS. He further stated that American Airlines had contributed $2000 toward retirement dinners.
5. Secretaries report - Jim Groves explained his very brief handout. He pointed out that Roger Hill our Membership Chairman had recruited 92 new members since the Nashville Convention. He further stated that Zane Lemon had contacted him seeking help with his DC-3 project. He told Zane that since the Grey Eagles were a non-profit organization, we were not able to give him monies from the organization, but would point out to the membership what was taking place and urge the members individually to contribute to the project if they desired.
6. President O'Leary spoke about the loss of our Scribe, Bob Lundy. The name of George Partlo came up. He is an avid photographer and a hard worker that seems to qualify him for the job. Stephen Nehlig was brought up also along with Jack Hinson as possible replacements.
7. Convention 2007 - Glenn Cribbs stated that after talking to the Flight Engineers at their convention in Dallas, if they decide to come to Reno at the same time that we are having our convention the contract for them will have to be done by them and not added on to our contract which is already done. We would still be able to get together for some things but they would still have to make their own contractual arrangements. The website is updated as of October. The winter Board of Directors meeting will be on January 8, 2007 at the Sheraton Grande near DFW Airport. The Spring Board Meeting will be at the Silver Legacy in Reno June 19, 20 & 21st. Glenn said he was going to try to set up the visit to Fallon NAS and the Lake Tahoe lunch on the "Dixie II" boat. We also will try the menu at the hotel and decide what food we like. He stated that the new tentative itinerary he has planned will go on the website. A short discussion followed about alternate ways to get to Reno.
8. Convention 2008 - Art Culver stated that he had the hotel selection in Orlando down to three and in November Dale Johnson, Tom Eanes and he would check them out and finalize on one. President O'Leary stated that as of this time, Dale Johnson has been designated as Chairman of the Site Selection Committee.
9. President O'Leary thanked Don Craig for his time on the site selection committee and pointed out that he had made a definite difference in the quality of sites that were selected.
10. Unfinished Business - A short discussion followed on the subject of Captain Ed Bowe flying a DC-3 DST sleeper for a golfer that played 600 holes of golf around the United States in 4 days. An author was trying to get information about Capt. Bowe. for a book he is writing. Several of the Grey Eagle officers received several letters from this author.
11. New Business - There was no new business.
12. Convention 06 - This discussion was broken down into three main areas: At the hotel, aboard ship and from the ship on October 29. This included attendee count, ground transportation, all volunteers' meeting, registration and the RCCL staff pre-check visit. We then had a discussion of the number of people who would be at the dinner on October 21st and the number of people who would eat breakfast on October 22nd. Then there was a discussion of baggage for transportation to the ship as to tagging, checking, storage and pickup for transport to the ship. There followed a discussion about tipping for the hotel concierge, the driver and his helper, and the tip for the ship "boss" porter. There followed a brief discussion of the few problems with "Super Shuttle" coming from LAX to the hotel. Some asked at what time were the bags supposed to be in the lobby area on Saturday for pre-clearance. President O'Leary said 1:00 P.M. would be the time. Bob Mangam explained the ticket colors for the bussing on Sunday morning. The registration will take part in the Catalina room on Saturday. The "money man" will go on the first bus and pay the "porter boss" whatever is agreed to. President O'Leary will be the "money man". On return to port, the bus will wait until it is full and then return to the hotel. It will then return and pick up the next load of people. President O'Leary stated that when we return to the hotel on Sunday morning, the rooms would probably not be ready. We may have to sit around for a while. There will be a large crowd of people checking out before we can check in. A short discussion followed over the list of people who would be going to LAX directly from the ship. Bob Mangam stated that he would check with those on the list as they went through registration to be sure that they still wanted to go directly to LAX. Art Culver said that if we see Dave and Judy Haggett on board to encourage them to be the Convention Chairmen for him. The wives of the board members have been meeting as volunteers on how to use and operate the onboard comm center and lounge area. If someone arrives on Sunday, they will be processed on Monday for registration. The keys for the room with the bags will be with President O'Leary and the hotel staff only. Short discussions followed with the schedule for the 6th day in the Some Enchanted Evening Lounge for cocktails and George Warde's remarks and after dinner go to theViking Crown Lounge.
13. At 5:56 P.M. President O'Leary called a recess.
14. On October 27, after George Warde's remarks, the new officers for 2007 were presented to the convention. They are: President Glenn E. Cribbs, 1st Vice Pres Arthur L. Culver, 2nd Vice Pres Donald C. Jensen, Secretary James T. Groves III and Treasurer Robert G. Hoch. New President Glenn Cribbs closed the meeting at 6:00 P.M. with a stroke of the gavel.
Respectfully submitted by the Secretary,
Jim Groves
Executive Board Minutes At Sheraton Grand Hotel DFW Airport September 18, 2006
1. At 9:00 A.M. President O'Leary called the Springboard meeting of the Grey Eagles to order.
2. A quorum was present according to Secretary Jim Groves.
3. Members present were the members of the Executive Board of Directors, Dale Johnson, Roger Hill, Tom Eanes and Don Jensen.
4. Secretary Groves read the names of the members who had died since the last board meeting followed by a moment of silence.
5. Treasurer's Report - The balance was higher last year at this time than it is now due primarily to the larger payment made by members for attractions than this year where we have the meals paid for by the cruise line. He went on to say that the IRS has said our quarterly payments were about $1000 behind. It turns out that the disputed funds were an electronic fund transfer from Harris Bank in 1999. They were rechecked and found to have been sent to the IRS, but the costs for the CPA made the usual charges a bit higher. Dues income is about the same as last year. A short discussion followed on dropping members for not-payment. There also followed a short discussion of exempting members from paying their dues when we find out about someone with Alzheimer's disease or other problems.
6. Secretary's Report - Various pages of the Policy Manual that had been changed were passed around and Jim reported that they reflected the changes made at the Winter BOD Meeting and a few editorial changes. He also stated that the Policy Manual can be downloaded from the Grey Eagle website. He also reported that now we have control of the Member Lookup Roster on the Grey Eagle website.
7. Glenn Cribbs moved that the Board accept the minutes of the previous Board meeting. Seconded by Bob Hoch. Motion passed by unanimous vote.
8. Nominations Committee - Dale Johnson, chairman, reported the makeup of the committee set out the nominations for 2007. They are: President, Glenn Cribbs, 1st Vice President Art Culver, 2nd Vice President Don Jensen, Secretary Jim Groves and Treasurer Bob Hoch.
9. A short discussion followed about the locations of the flags to hang at the convention. Glenn Cribbs stated he would bring the flags that Ray Seymour has. President O'Leary said he would contact Herb Dabelow to see if he had an additional set of flags.
10. Membership Report - Roger Hill stated that we had recruited 82 new members since the Nashville convention. In looking back to 9/11, we are having a very good year. Many new members are early retirements. Roger discussed one new member who joined at age 80. A discussion followed on techniques to recruit new members. President O'Leary told of methods he used to recruit in the New York area with good results.
11. Conventions 2006 - President O'Leary stated that we were right on schedule and have approximately the same number of people that were forecast over a year ago. Marty pointed out that very soon, all would receive a booklet called "Adventure Awaits" which would contain all of the information needed about the cruise. On Saturday, at the hotel in San Pedro, one or two people from the cruise lines will be available to help in starting the boarding process. More discussion of this convention will be after lunch.
12. Convention 2007 - Glenn Cribbs stated that the convention is set at the Legacy Hotel with $65 per night rooms. Jack Neilon is the convention chairman and he and Glenn have looked into a number of tours that should be great for the members who attend. Marty stated that he used a survey to help him decide to continue with cruise planning. The software for the survey belongs to the Grey Eagles and has proven very accurate. Glenn stated he would probably use the survey when he sends out his President's Letter. A short discussion followed about a possible "Bordello" Tour. Dale Johnson suggested a "Mission" tour for the wives to balance things out. Glenn suggested a June Spring Board meeting in Reno to walk through some of the convention items. A possible tour around and on Lake Tahoe is being considered. A possible problem is getting from DFW and ORD to Reno.
13. Convention 2008 - Art Culver stated that he would like to have his convention in Orlando, Florida. Art was impressed with the Orlando Visitors Bureau and how knowledgeable they were about the Grey Eagles. There are lots of flights into Orlando and lots of attractions for side trips. Dave Haggett has shown interest in serving as convention coordinator.
14. Jere Francis arrived and was introduced all around. He may serve as the next secretary.
15. A discussion followed about the differences between conventions in hotels and conventions on a ship. Marty plans on a future set of guidelines to make this distinction.
16. At 11:30 A. M. the Board of Directors took a lunch break.
17. At 1:00 P.M. the Board of Directors reconvened and Secretary Groves confirmed a quorum.
18. A discussion followed concerning how to interest retiring pilots in joining the Grey Eagles and keeping them interested. APA has been a great help to the Grey Eagles in a number of instances Roger Hill stated he would call the DFW retirement coordinator and be sure that the Grey Eagle application is in the retirement packet.
19. President O'Leary discussed the amount of help with problems given by APA and American Airlines.
20. Dale Johnson suggested that we needed to select a new person to work on the Hotel Selection Committee to replace Don Craig. After a short discussion, the subject was tabled to a future BOD meeting.
21. President O'Leary reviewed the information concerning the arrangements at the Doubletree Hotel. He stated that he had 5 rooms in his pocket one of which will be for George Warde. He said that there were very few members in the overflow hotel, The Holliday Inn. He stated further that there would be three (3) busses to transport us to the ship and one (1) truck to shuttle our luggage on Sunday. Be sure when you get to the ship that your luggage is in your stateroom. A short discussion followed concerning communications on board the ship. On Saturday in the hotel from 6:00 PM to 9 PM we will have our dinner buffet. A short discussion followed about tours during the cruise. President O'Leary discussed the planned communications center room that will have information for those who require it. On Day 1 aboard the ship, at 4:00 PM there will be a safety briefing where you put on your Mae West and your lifeboat is pointed out. Ship then departs at 5:00 P.M. and dinner will be at 6:00 P.M. Gratuities are already paid for meals and your room. All other things such as bar and presents will have the gratuities added to your bill. Day 1 Sunday night dinner is casual. Each evening will have a different show in the theater. A short discussion followed about ordering a tuxedo for the formal nights. President O'Leary requested that the members wear black jackets with the tuxedo. Monday and Friday will be the formal nights. There will be a cocktail hour on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All of our events will take place in the "Some Enchanted Evening" lounge. The ladies event will take place on Saturday. If you desire, you can have all of your meals served in your stateroom.
22. The next BOD meeting will be at 3:00 PM Friday, October 20, 2006 at the hotel in San Pedro. A short discussion followed about the packages of wine available for the cruise. The 5 bottle package, normally $119 can be had for $100. Bob Hoch noted that the cocktail parties serve free drinks. President O'Leary stated that the bus schedules going to and from the ship are already set up. The first busses will leave at approximately 11:30 AM.
23 All business being completed, President O'Leary closed the meeting with the stroke of the gavel at 3:30 P.M.
Respectfully Submitted,
jIM groves Secretary
Board of
Directors Minutes
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